Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MONROVIA26
2009-01-08 17:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Monrovia
Cable title:  

LIBERIA: PRS GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW PILLAR ON

Tags:  PREL PGOV EAID LI 
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VZCZCXRO2468
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0026 0081753
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 081753Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0674
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L MONROVIA 000026 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: PRS GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW PILLAR ON
BRINK OF DIVORCE

REF: A. 2008 MONROVIA 477

B. 2008 MONROVIA 742

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for reasons 1.5 B and D.

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONROVIA 000026

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: PRS GOVERNANCE AND RULE OF LAW PILLAR ON
BRINK OF DIVORCE

REF: A. 2008 MONROVIA 477

B. 2008 MONROVIA 742

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for reasons 1.5 B and D.


1. (C) SUMMARY: Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs
Amara Konneh is frustrated with how the Governance and Rule
of Law (GRL) Pillar of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS)
is functioning and has asked the President to assign it to
another Minister. According to Konneh, the agreement made at
the Rule of Law Retreat in September (Ref B) to split the
pillar into a Governance sub-pillar, chaired by Konneh, and a
Rule of Law sub-pillar, co-chaired by the Chief Justice and
the Minister of Justice failed because Chief Justice Johnnie
Lewis sidelined Minister of Justice Philip Banks in the Rule
of Law sub-pillar and would not cooperate with Konneh in the
larger GRL Pillar. A best case scenario would be if the
larger Pillar split completely into a Governance Pillar and a
Rule of Law Pillar. END SUMMARY.

MINISTER OF PLANNING WANTS OUT OF GRL PILLAR


2. (C) In a private conversation with PolOff following the
January 6 meeting of the Governance sub-pillar of the
Governance and Rule of Law (GRL) Pillar, Minister of Planning
and Economic Affairs Amara Konneh said that he was frustrated
with how the GRL Pillar was functioning and that he had asked
President Sirleaf to assign it to another Minister. He said
he officially told her that because the Ministry of Planning
will be overseeing the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of all
four PRS pillars, it was inappropriate for him to chair one
of them. But, he also admitted working with the Chief
Justice inside the larger GRL Pillar was "impossible" and
said promises of better cooperation between the Chief Justice
and the Minister of Justice made at the Rule of Law Retreat
in September (Ref B) failed. He said that a full GRL retreat
chaired by President Sirleaf would be the only possibility to
move the pillar forward, but feared even that may not be
enough. In his opinion, Sirleaf should make Banks head of
the Governance Sub-Pillar to give him equal footing with the
Chief Justice within the larger GRL Pillar.

RULE OF LAW SUB-PILLAR HIJACKED BY CHIEF JUSTICE


3. (C) The Governance sub-pillar still suffers from some of
the same inefficiencies as the larger GRL Pillar always has
(Ref A),but has improved considerably since Minister Konneh
took it over in August. The Rule of Law sub-pillar, on the
other hand, has made no progress whatsoever. At the
beginning of the only meeting the sub-pillar has had since
the Rule of Law Retreat four months ago, the Chief Justice
sidelined the Minister of Justice as co-chair saying that he
"will not be subservient to the Executive Branch" and
demanded that his gavel be brought to him on a pillow by the
bailiffs so that he could chair the meeting alone. The Chief
Justice has subsequently failed to show up for the last two
sub-pillar meetings, without notifying donors or Ministry of
Justice officials before their arrival that the meeting would
not take place. Deputy Minister of Justice Eva Mappy Morgan
told PolOff December 23 that talks between the Chief Justice
and her Minister had been "less frequent" since the Chief
Justice refused to share power with the Minister. She said
none of the Rule of Law retreat agreements have been upheld
either.

COMMENT:


4. (C) Given the promises broken to date, it appears that
other agreements reached at the September Rule of Law
retreat, including the inter-governmental rule-of-law
taskforce, may also be in jeopardy. We suspect that Minister
Konneh, an ambitious 38-year-old recent Harvard graduate, is
extremely frustrated with trying to work with the Chief
Justice and is looking for a way to gracefully get off from
what is likely to be a sinking ship. The best solution would
be for Sirleaf to break the GRL Pillar into separate pillars,
a Governance Pillar, chaired by the Civil Service Agency or
the Governance Commission, and a Rule of Law Pillar,
co-chaired by Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice as
agreed. This would at least protect the gains made within
the Governance sub-pillar from the complete dysfunction of
the Rule of Law sub-pillar. Otherwise, a GRL retreat chaired
by the President herself (as she is the only one the Chief
Justice listens to) may be the only hope of getting the Chief
Justice to cooperate in a constructive manner with the other
members of the pillar. Even a successful pillar retreat,
however, may not be any more fruitful than the Rule of Law
retreat was before.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD